Miscommunications
by prettyish
Summary: A chance encounter between Padma and Viktor at the Quidditch World Cup leads to some misunderstandings.


Honestly, Padma doesn't even _like_ Quidditch all that much. But she'd still jumped at the chance to go when Parvati had offered her an extra ticket to the World Cup, and that's how she'd ended up here now, surrounding by screaming, chanting fans at the game of the year. How she'd wound up lost in the crowds near the concessions, separated from her sister and her friends, well, that was still a mystery.

The problem is she can't quite remember where their shared tent is except for that it was somewhere vaguely east of the stadium and now that the game is over, she's out of luck as running into someone who knows is very unlikely. They're all back at the tent, celebrating England's win. Even worse, it's getting cold now that the sun has gone down and she's wearing only her light cotton _shalwar_ and _kurta_ , airy enough during the summer day among the people in the stands but much too thin for the evening.

Despite the game being over the hordes of fans still swarm all over the campgrounds. As a group, they're mostly drunk. Rowdy bands dance and sing all over, jumping around in celebration or wallowing in the loss of the Argentinian team. A trio of wizards careens too close to her, stumbling in their drunken haze and knocking her down into the grass. She curses at them in Hindi; if she had said the same words in English, they surely wouldn't have taken it lightly.

"внимателен," a hand juts into her peripheral vision, "добре ли си?"

Despite the two languages she's fluent in and another three she knows the bare basics of, Padma doesn't even recognize this one. Her confusion must show on her face as he smiles, motions towards the trio and offers his hand again. She takes it, smiling her thanks.

The man has short-cropped dark hair and hooded eyes, a bit on the short side but thick with muscle. Her eyes are drawn to the dimple in his chin when he grins. She does a little curtsy and then gestures widely to the campgrounds, lifting her hands and shrugging in the universal symbol of "I don't know." He seems to get the message, responding in kind with a few hand motions, pointing at the two of them, and walking. He'll walk around with her to help her find her tent. She curtsies again.

With a smile, he gestures for her to lead the way.

As they search they talk in the few stilted phrases that they can get across by using their hands and bodies without speaking. She tells him that she is here with her twin and went to buy another pair of omnioculars as a gift for her father when she'd gotten lost; he tells her that he plays as a seeker, mimicking flying on a broom and catching the snitch in a way that has her laughing so hard she has to stop walking for a moment, doubled over and clutching her stomach.

It grows darker as the evening wears on into true night. Colder, as well. When he sees her shivering and rubbing at her arms, he offers her the thin "Krum" jersey he's wearing over a long-sleeved shirt. It's not thick enough to offer much heat but it's still warm from his body so she shrugs it on over her clothes.

Along their search they end up sharing a bottle of wine that he buys. When she tries to offer him money, the man pats his chest and makes a little bow; his treat, he insists.

The search drags on for most of the night but Padma finds she doesn't mind. Telling stories with her hands and laughing with the still-unnamed man almost makes her glad she'd gotten lost in the first place. But in the end they stumble upon a part of the campground she recognizes and find themselves in a familiar circle of tents. As soon as she walks into the glow of the bonfire in the middle of the grouped tents, Parvati comes rushing out and wraps Padma in her arms.

"Oh Padma I was so worried! Thank Merlin you're okay," her sister babbles.

"I'm fine, Par, just got a bit lost. But he," she motions towards her companion, "helped me find my way."

The man looks shocked. "You… speak English?" He says with thickly accented words.

Now it's her turn to look surprised. "Yes." She replies, and then doubles over laughing. "You-I… I didn't…"

She's laughing too hard finish her sentence. Soon, the man is clutching his stomach and guffawing along with her as Parvati just stares at them with mild confusion. Padma tries to explain the situation to her twin but ends up breaking out in giggles any time she tries; the man just keeps up a constant stream of chuckles.

"Viktor," he says after their laughter dyes down into faint snickers, wiping the corners of his eyes.

"Padma," she replies. He leaves after exchanging information and promising to owl.

"Pad," Parvati hisses.

"What?" Padma tilts her head questioningly.

"That was Viktor _Krum_."

Padma breaks out into laughter all over again.

* * *

Prompted by velmel. Thanks to velmel, pug, and all of r/fanfiction discord for all the help!


End file.
